USDA Rural Tour

In 2009, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack led the Obama Administration's Rural Tour, visiting dozens of communities in 20 states in an effort to engage in a more robust dialog with folks living in rural America. He was joined by other top Administration officials - including Vice President Joe Biden - to host meetings and events across the country, and engaged thousands of Americans in a conversation about how communities, states, and the federal government can work together to help strengthen rural America.

We learned from communities how the policies and support that USDA and the Obama Administration offer are driving job creation and affecting the lives of rural Americans. We gathered thoughts, concerns and stories about each community's vision for its future. What we heard and saw is that there are incredible opportunities in Rural America today - but that we need to embrace new strategies to create a thriving rural economy and drive that revitalization.

In 2011, President Obama launched the White House Rural Council to better coordinate federal efforts to support thriving economies in rural America, and he took a Economic Rural Tour of his own to talk to people from different walks of life about what is happening in our country. Today, USDA and the Obama administration continue to work with communities as they pursue new approaches to create jobs and generate wealth and build a stronger, more prosperous rural America for generations to come.